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Thursday, September 25, 2014

It's Pumpkin Season! From the book, "California Mission Recipes", written by Bess Anderson Cleveland, here is a historic California recipe for making pumpkin pancakes. The book refers to them as "Indian Pumpkin Cakes". Enjoy this easy to follow, fall season, tasty treat!

Ingredients:-2 cups pumpkin-2 cups yellow corn me-1/4 cup butterInstructions:1. Stew 2 cups of pumpkin. Put the stewed pumpkin in a pan. Mash and drain it, then place it over medium hear. Stir until it starts to get dry.2. Gradually add 2 cups yellow corn meal to the pumpkin. Constantly stir. Add 1/4 cup of butter and mix thoroughly to form dough; a little more corn meal may be added if necessary.3. Shape round flat pancakes and bake over a high heat on a well-buttered or oiled hot pan for 5 minutes on each side. (Other option is to lay the cakes on a shallow pan and bake then in a oven for 10 minutes)4. Add a little butter and sugar on top of the hot cakes and serve. Serves about 8 people.

Shrimp avocado grapefruit tostada is easy to make. The variety of
colors of the ingredients brings out a classy appetizer to impress your friends
and guests. It’s such a simple recipe that you can even put your own spin on it and it will still taste amazing!

Ingredients:

Grapefruit

Avocado

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Fresh mint

Tostadas

Lime (or Lime Juice)

Shrimp

Feta cheese

1. Slice avocado into 5 pieces

2. Slice Grapefruit. Cut the top and the bottom
part of the grapefruit first, then make it flat and cut all sides.

3. Slice lime. Slice and dice mint.

4. Sautee shrimp in oil, with salt & pepper in a
hot pan for about 1 minute on each side.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

When baking bread, the benefits of using a bread scorer are
simple but let’s first explain what a bread score is and why it is used. A
bread score is a slit in the bread that releases steam from the dough. Artisan bakers make slashes in the dough so the
bread rises evenly and properly in the oven. When the steam is released during the baking
process the bread comes out looking great, and has the finest texture and
taste.

You need the right tool
that can score perfectly every time so you don’t waste time, dough and money. If you
make a slit that’s too deep, then the bread will lose its shape. If you make a
slit that’s too shallow, you will get bulges and blisters in the bread because
steam was not released properly.

With the Alfi Bread Scorer you get the quality artisan type
bread at home with a very efficient tool. In a traditional lame only the blade
comes in contact with the dough, but with the Alfi Bread Scorer the handle will
guide you and you get the perfect score without any training. It is a good size
baking tool, easy to use and the actual blade is the correct size. Your scores in
the dough will not be too deep nor too shallow. This baker’s tool is
ergonomically designed to produce the perfect score, every time.

If you have tried our bread scorer or having problems scoring bread, then please feel free to leave a comment below and tell us about your experience.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

How To Make Bruschetta

Do you need a simple bruschetta recipe that’s refreshing,
delicious and easy to make? Our easy to follow 4 step recipe can help you make
this tasty dish in no time. Bruschetta is an Italian antipasto which means
before the main course. This a great dish for appetizers, barbecues, casual
lunches and even elegant dinners. Before you start you need a sharp knife, a
bowl, and a spoon for mixing ingredients.

Ingredients:

Tomatoes

Fresh basil

Garlic

Extra virgin olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

Ciabatta bread

Salt

Cracked Pepper

Slice bread into ¼ of an inch thick slices and
toast the bread in the oven for a few minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Next you will dice some tomatoes. Thinly slice the
garlic and basil. Place tomatoes, garlic and basil into a bowl.

For the ideal knife that will cut bread, tomatoes, and garlic into
perfect slices we recommend our very sharp, long lasting, made in USA Alfi knife. If you get a chance to try this out, please let us know how it turned out by leaving a comment below. Or if you have your own special bruschetta recipe we would like to hear about it!

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Having the best tools is important
if you want to bake beautiful bread of pastries. We have compiled a list of
excellent tools that are useful for both master bakers and home baking
beginners.

Alfi Bread
Scorer:The patented ALFI® Bread Scorer is
an outstanding baker’s tool that effortlessly and consistently ensures the
proper rising of dough in the oven. Unlike its predecessor (an inconsistent and
relatively pricey tool called a “lame”), the Alfi bread scorer requires minimal
training, guesswork or learning-curve, and eliminates costly, time-consuming
errors. The Alfi bread scorer is NSF approved and used in artisan bakeries and
large bakery chains all over the world for optimal baking efficiency. It is the
most effective, economical and effortless scoring solution for baking. The
Scorer is ergonomically designed with a drag-free blade that minimizes dragging
or pulling. If you want to get the perfect score every time, the Alfi bread
scorer is the tool for you.

Demarle Silpat® Non-Stick
Baking Mat (Half-Size):Stop
burning the bottom of your bread and cookies – try a Demarle Silpat®baking mat. This
incredible, non-stick baking-mat can be found in the best kitchens in the
world. The mat is used by both bakers and chefs alike. The durable Silpat® baking mat can be reused thousands of times. Use this
baking mat and make the best cookies ever.

Long Lasting Pastry Bag by
MartellatoA pastry bag is one of the most versatile tools
known to bakers. This high quality pastry bag is a must-have for every serious
home baker. Martellato’s innovative, reusable, and resistant pastry bag gives
this product outstanding flexibility and softness that is second to none. This
superflex pastry bag has a smooth internal surface that results in easy
emission of creams, mousse, or even culinary uses (such as creamy whipped
potatoes). Martellato also offers an external rough surface that allows the
baker to get a better grip on the bag. This product is high quality and
guarantees the highest hygienic safety. Try out Martellato long-lasting pastry
bags today and see why everyone is raving about them!

Demarle Siltray® (Baguette
Tray): These flexible Baguette Trays are especially effective for
proofing and baking frozen dough. Their particular structure prevents the dough
from sticking into the fibers during defrosting and proofing. Their flutes keep
their shape over time, allowing for perfectly rounded baguettes. The Siltray® is coated with multiple layers of high quality red
and black silicone. This ensures that the baguette tray lasts longer and
creates better results.

Demarle Flexipan 4 oz Muffin Tray,
24 Molds: Who doesn’t love muffins? This Demarle Flexipan muffin tray has
an elegant shape that produces an impeccably uniform muffin. Please even the
pickiest muffin-critics out there with this perfect muffin pan. These molds are
made with the highest quality and produce the best muffins. With 24 muffin
molds, you will be able to make plenty of friends with your exquisite
muffin-making abilities

2.Increase
to medium speed and add water, if necessary, in order to allow flour and eggs
to combine and form pasta dough. Continue to mix dough for an additional 4 min
until pasta dough becomes somewhat elastic.

3.Round
the dough with your hands and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rest for 35
min. at room temperature.

Sage
Brown-Butter Sauce:

1.Add
butter and sage to a small sauce pan.

2.Turn
heat to medium-low and allow butter to cook until lightly brown specks form at
the bottom of the pan and the butter develops a strong nutty aroma.

3.Immediately
take off the heat as to prevent butter from burning. Discard sage.

Assembly:

1.On
a floured surface, roll the pasta dough out as thinly as possible (preferably
with a pasta rolling machine).

2.Cut
the pasta sheet into two equal-sized pieces and brush one of the pieces fully
with egg-wash.

3.Using
a tablespoon, scoop out equal amounts of filling onto the pasta sheet that has
been brushed with egg-wash. Space filling-mounds roughly 2 inches apart from
each other and fully cover this sheet with the second pasta sheet.

4.Use
your fingers to press the second pasta sheet over the egg-washed one to release
any air bubble around the filling and to seal the sheets together.

5.Cut
into ravioli using a ravioli cutter and transfer to a floured sheet tray.

6.Cook
Ravioli’s in salted boiling water for about 4 minutes, and with a slotted spoon
transfer them to the pan with the brown butter sauce on med-low heat just to
reheat the sauce.